Which teams completed the most laps at the Barcelona shakedown as Mercedes impress but Audi struggle

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The first pre-season test under the 2026 F1 regulations has finished, with Ferrari racer Lewis Hamilton leaving Barcelona with the fastest lap time at the five-day shakedown.

Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton left it until the final seconds of the final day in Montmelo to post the quickest lap time of the week. Hamilton is believed to have set a 1:16.348 in the Ferrari SF-26, after going for a glory run under the fading sun on a set of the soft Pirelli tyres.

Friday finished with a flurry of qualifying simulations, as teams concluded their run plans for the behind-closed-doors event. But racking up the miles was the main priority, as teams got to understand how their new cars built to the 2026 F1 regulations behaved on a race circuit.

Williams had to miss the entire Barcelona shakedown test, following delays with their FW48 programme. Aston Martin also arrived at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya late, and would only be able to put the AMR26 on track for any meaningful running on the final day, as well.

What is your big takeaway from the 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown test?

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Mercedes completed the most laps at the 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown test

F1 arranged the behind-closed-doors Barcelona shakedown as a chance for the 11 teams on the grid in 2026 to test the reliability of their new cars. The 2026 regulations saw the biggest overhaul of the rulebook in F1 history, with new engine, aero, chassis and tyre rules at once.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

The reliability of the Mercedes W17 was one of the biggest stories to emerge from the five-day Barcelona shakedown test. George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were able to post a whopping 504 laps in their new car across Mercedes’ three permitted days out of the five.

F1 regulated the amount of on-track running that each team could complete in Barcelona to three days out of the five that the paddock spent in Spain. Mercedes elected to use the first, third and fourth days, having sat out the second of the days due to rain arriving at the track.

Mercedes and Red Bull impressed with their reliability at the Barcelona shakedown

Should Red Bull be worried about Isack Hadjar’s testing crash?

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Red Bull and Ferrari were the only teams to test their cars in the rain on Tuesday, but it came at a price for the former. Isack Hadjar crashed the Red Bull RB22 on Day 2 in Barcelona, after an off at the last corner. Red Bull did not run again until Friday, as they were short on spares.

When the RB22 was able to hit the circuit, the reliability of the maiden Red Bull Powertrains engine impressed many. Red Bull have built their own engine for the first time for the 2026 rules, as Honda initially decided to leave F1 before joining Aston Martin in an exclusive deal.

Red Bull’s new engine left Russell “impressed” in Barcelona, as many predicted the RBPT DM01 power unit built in partnership with Ford would initially struggle. Instead, the Milton Keynes squad and their sister team Racing Bulls both registered impressive total lap counts.

Audi, Cadillac and Aston Martin struggle with low lap counts at the Barcelona test

Can Audi go all the way by 2030? 🏆

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Williams’ absence from the entire Barcelona shakedown test leaves the Grove crew playing catch-up when F1 heads to Bahrain in February. Sakhir will host two pre-season tests at the home of the Bahrain Grand Prix on February 11-13 and 18-20 to finish the winter schedule.

F1 new boys Audi and Cadillac will also hope that they can enjoy a better time in the desert than they achieved in Barcelona. While Audi were the first team to run a 2026 rules car on a track with a private shakedown in Montmelo, they largely struggled during the official test.

Audi have taken over Sauber to debut in F1 as a fully-fledged factory team in 2026, running a works engine featuring the new 50/50 electrical/combustion power share. Cadillac are an entirely new F1 team, but the General Motors entry will use customer engines from Ferrari.